February 15, 2015

On the left side I used a different than my usual size page protector. This one has four 6 x 6 slots. I used this entire side for our 20th anniversary. We agreed to no gifts but I ended up being surprised with a pair of new diamond earrings. I tucked the note from Eric and the wrapping paper in one slot.

This is the right page which holds random photos and stories from the week. I used February Gossamer Blue kits for my papers and embellishments. A few Halloween treats, a photo of Josey while touring the nursing department at the college visit, Jordan and some friends gettin' fringy at a school dance, tailgating at the volleyball tournament on a gorgeous Saturday and a nice record of the Spring bulbs I planted. I actually went looking for this photo and date to see what I planted and how many. Project Life is great for that kind of record keeping.

Stitched on chipboard letters and stickers for the anniversary page.

A journaling card with wood veneer hearts and a little sticker label for journaling.

February 9, 2015

I'm sharing Week 41 of my 2014 Project Life today. This two page spread started out with the three 6 x 6 inserts which are collages of my Fall porch decor. I wanted to keep the pages simple so I could plow through on my 2014 remaining weeks. I ended up just placing a 6 x 6 square of patterned paper in the remaining slot on the right page.

On the right side, I didn't really have any journaling cards from my February Gossamer Blue kits that coordinated so I just made my own. I used remaining scraps from the October Afternoon 12 x 12 sheet. The two pages coordinate nicely and I didn't do much other embellishing.

Since the February kits weren't really Fall themed since I'm kind of working out of season, I was happy to find this paper from the kits and just roll with it.

I did end up using a 4 x 6 journaling card with a paper strip and wood veneer letters from other GB kits.

I loved the package of Simple Stories labels so much this month. I used them on a 4 x 6 card as date markers then just hand wrote the rest of my journaling.

A few stickers here and there and I was done with this week.

I'm trucking along. Took a little break from working on pages so that I could have fun with some family stuff, organize the house a bit and enjoy the fantastic weather we had yesterday. I'll be back to share more pages yet this week. Have a great week everyone.

February 2, 2015

Hi friends. Hope your week is off to a good start. The February Gossamer Blue Kits are now up for sale + there is a big sale on some previous kits. I'll be sharing my February projects on my blog this month and you can see all of them in the Gossamer Blue now.

This is Week 2 of my 2015 Project Life. I have a two page spread with inserts and I'm so pleased with how easily they came together. I used the Life Pages Kit for all of my journaling cards and embellishments. This is the two page spread shown with a 10 x 12 insert.

Turning the page you see the back of the 10 x 12 insert (page protector from Project Life) and the front of an 8.5 x 11 horizontal insert.

Here's the two page spread by itself. I love how the colors coordinated so well with this week's photos.

The left page. Lots of crafty work this week.

The right page. Just a mix of photos from the week.

I loved this colorful plaid 4 x 6 card from the Life Pages Kit. I used my watercolors to create a subtle green wash in the speech bubble. A paper file tab and chipboard file tab were used to note the week #.

I'm loving white journaling cards with a design on them. They freshen up a page lickety split.

Here a lot of my 3 x4 cards with hand journaling. I loved the wood veneer pieces in the Life Pages Kit. They're becoming a favorite. I also watercolored that camera with the same green paint on my week number card.

This is my 8 x 10 insert and I love how it turned out. The floral cards from the Life Pages Kit were made for this page, I think. They match my vintage bowls just perfectly.

I added in some journaling cards, embellishments and stamps from Ali Edwards' Story Kits and Stamps for this insert. The theme was Gathering this month so I chose to create this page from a blog post I wrote recently about a thrifting trip.

This large plastic word is also from Ali's Gathering Story Kit. Brad is from Gossamer Blue kits.

The back side of the insert is about our pancake mornings. The February GB kits are full of October Afternoon goodies and pancakes were a popular theme. Perfect for my photos in this insert.

The striped journaling card was from my stash. The gray journaling card is from Ali's Gathering Kit. I love that egg flair button and the fork sticker from October Afternoon.

This is a funny little drawing that Jordan did when she was five. She found it and pointed out that she drew a little something special for Dad. We never noticed it til just now.

I used embellishments from the February kits for journaling. Surprise!! I cut out a square in my page protector so the little flip up swimming trunks could reveal Dad's *ahem* details. That's my girl.

So so happy with how my 2015 pages are coming along. I've kept things simple and easy but am able to add in just the right amount of embellishments. I'm also catching up on 2014. Just 7 more weeks to go. I'll be sharing those pages soon too. Thanks for stopping by!

January 30, 2015

I've been enjoying the new Ali Edwards Story stamps and kits. This month's theme is Gatherings and I've really been embracing the words and trying to tell some stories that pertain to the theme. So here goes.

Thrifting. Gathering. I come by it honestly. My mom was and still is the biggest garage saler you will ever meet. My siblings also love antiques, auctions and picking. For me, I love a good thrift store or flea market. There's no pressure and you can wander around and linger as long as you like. I can spend several hours in just one store. Case in point last Friday. It had been a long week of helping out with a school event and I was around a lot of people. I'm so used to being by myself every day just hanging out with Charlie in my home. It gets to me. Not that I don't like to be around people but home is best. It's quiet and I can be one with my thoughts.

About once a month I do get the itch to go junkin'. Part of it is the thrill of finding something good. Something old, something that calls my name, something that evokes a memory, something that connects me to my past. These red, white and blue bowls were speaking to me today. I guess I have an old kindred soul because they instantly made me picture a farm wife in her little white house, mixing up a dinner or putting a ball of bread dough on the window sill to rise.

I love the peacefulness I get when I look at old junk. It reminds me of all the stories my dad tells me and makes me wish I could go back to those times too. Maybe a time when things were simpler. When there weren't so many distractions in the world. When things weren't plastic.

So I left that thrift store with these pretty bowls. I also left with a clear head and a feeling that life had slowed down a little. You can bet that there will be a ball of bread dough rising in one of these bowls soon. On my window sill with a vintage tea towel over it. Life is good today.

January 28, 2015

Edit: Guys, I'm sorry but I made an error which has now been corrected in my post. There is not a 10 x 12 insert, it's an 8 x 12 insert which was cut down from a Project Life Z page protector.

Just finished Week 40 of my 2014 Project Life. Instead of stressing about behind behind and getting caught up, I'm totally embracing my new simple outlook and getting more of the stories told. It's a new challenge to see what kind of a total package I can pull together for a weekly spread. This week was just a joy to create. Hang with me, lots of photos but I'll keep the chit chat to a minimum.

For Week 40 I've got a two page spread plus two inserts. All inserts were printed from One Little Bird.

Here's what the two page spread looks like with no inserts.

The left page was just random photos from the week with a single journaling card acting as a week in review.

The right page is all dedicated to Jordan's 16th birthday.

For my week number card I used a One Little Bird digital overlay and added the date. I used Dropbox to import the overlay into the LetterGlow app.

This is the weekly spread with the front of an 8" x 12"insert cut down from a 12 x 12 Project Life Z Page Protector. The photos were just more random photos from the week but they were all of nature so I collaged them together on one page.

Here's a closeup of that insert.

Turning the page you can see the back side of the 8" x 12" insert. You can also see another 5" x 7" insert on the right side.

Here's the two pages together. These two inserts coordinate with one another.

I copied a blog post into a word document and printed it at 4 x 6 size. Title is cut from a One Little Bird journaling card and leaf is from Gossamer Blue's Gramercy Road collection. Boy, Ali Edwards hits it right on the money when she uses her blog posts for journaling. I think I'm going to start adding more stories to my blog so I can do the same. So easy to get a full story instead of trying to do it when you're assembling layouts.

Turning the page again, you can see the back side of the 5 x 7 insert.

This insert coordinates with the 12 x 12 page of Jordan's birthday.

Patterned background is from a Gossamer Blue kit. Cake piece is from a One Little Bird journaling card. Embellishments and lined journaling card are from Gossamer Blue kits and shop.

Here's some of the One Little Bird journaling cards I used for Jordan's birthday. Gosh, I love them so. Simple, not too much color, lots of white space. Just the look I'm going for this year.

Wood veneer is from Studio Calico and gold letters are from a Gossamer Blue kit, from American Crafts.